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Drug-gang leader at Blumberg housing project in North Philly gets 18 years in prison

The organization used a network of sellers, lookouts, suppliers, and supervisors.

Resident lined the streets and some took photographs as the Norman Blumberg Apartments, which rose to fanfare in 1967, were imploded in 2016.
Resident lined the streets and some took photographs as the Norman Blumberg Apartments, which rose to fanfare in 1967, were imploded in 2016.Read moreDAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer

A 33-year-old man who helped run a drug gang in a now-demolished North Philadelphia housing project was sentenced Friday in federal court to 18 years in prison, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced.

Damon Edwards, also known as “Boo” and “Boo-Boo,” was one of the leaders of an extensive and elaborate operation that sold crack cocaine out of the Norman Blumberg Apartments, 2311 W. Jefferson St., from late 2012 through late 2014.

Prosecutors said the group dealt crack around the clock with a network of sellers, lookouts, suppliers, and supervisors. The sellers and lookouts worked eight-hour shifts — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 4 to midnight, and midnight to 8 a.m. — at the notorious high-rise that was imploded in 2016.

Edwards pleaded last year to conspiracy to distribute 280 grams or more of crack cocaine and distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of public housing. Her later tried to withdraw his plea but U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond in Philadelphia ruled against him, saying Edwards was not claiming innocence but instead was arguing invalid points to reduce his time in prison.

In a letter Edwards wrote to the judge, he said: “I was wrong for dealing in drugs, but your Honor a 18 year sentence for a non-violent offender that never been incarcerated is a bit much.”

Prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Edwards was married and had two biological children and was helping to raise a third child.

McSwain said the drug gang was violent. “This group used and carried firearms, robbed rival drug dealers, and used intimidation, threats, and violence to further its drug trade,” he said.